Annular Solar Eclipse of 31 May, 2003 AD

Timezone / Date

Accuracy

Due to the erratic rotation of the Earth, the time and location of the eclipse cannot be forecast perfectly.
This eclipse's forecast is estimated to be accurate to within 2km in distance and a few seconds in time.

An annular eclipse of the Sun occurred on Saturday 31 May, 2003 UT, lasting from 01:46–06:30 UT. This was a marginal annular eclipse, lasting 3 minutes and 37 seconds, with the annular path visible in far north-west Scotland, Iceland, and Greenland. The partial eclipse was visible from much of northern Asia and Europe.

The timings of the phases of the overall eclipse
worldwide are as follows. In any particular
place it would have been seen for a significantly shorter
duration as the shadow moved across the Earth:

Partial eclipse began:

01:46:20 UT

Annular eclipse began:

03:44:53 UT

Maximum eclipse:

04:08:21 UT

Annular eclipse ended:

04:31:28 UT

Partial eclipse ended:

06:30:05 UT

The next eclipse in the triple-Saros series will happen on Jul 1, 2057, but will not be visible in Britain. However, two eclipses later in the same Saros series, an eclipse is visible in central Britain on Jul 23 2093.

An annular eclipse — the first central (ie. not partial) eclipse in its series — covers the top of the Earth, and partly misses it entirely. Large parts of Greenland will see the eclipse, and the centre line passes over Iceland. For the UK, it will be seen in most of the Highlands, including Inverness, the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Lewis, at around dawn. The rest of the UK will see the Sun rise partially eclipsed.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse.
The shaded area saw the annular solar eclipse; however, near the edges of
this area, the eclipse was very short. The bold line shows the centre
of the path, where the eclipse lasted longest.

Use the zoom controls to zoom in and out; hover your mouse over any
point on the centreline to see the time and
duration of the eclipse at that point. You can pan and zoom the map to
see detail for any part of the eclipse path.

Enable JavaScript to see the interactive map.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA's Eclipse Web Site shows the visibility of the annular solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse was seen. (Click on it for the
full-sized version.)